Human beings can be too cold or too hot in everyday activities, including work, athletics, general recreational endeavors and sleep. Likewise, animals, whether pets, agricultural animals, sporting animals such as race and show horses, and animals in zoos and reserves may be exposed to temperature extremes or veterinary treatments which require temperature control. Moreover, certain physical conditions such as insomnia, migraine headaches, hot flashes and night sweats may be treated by the use of temperature regulating methods, devices and systems to apply hypothermal therapy to the skin over certain areas of the body such as the forehead and/or the neck. The present invention offers a novel system and means for providing control of and some level of relief from uncomfortable temperature conditions and the treatment of certain medical conditions.
An aspect of the present invention is the harvesting of radio frequency (RF) radiation into DC power to power thermoelectric (TE) devices for temperature regulation. For ease of description, the term “TE” as used herein shall mean “thermoelectric”, and the terms may be used interchangeably. The totally independent electronics are deposited on flexible substrates, which are placed and laminated between an inner and outer fabric layer. The temperature regulation, regulating or regulatory fabrics have a number of useful applications. A primary application is wearable garments. The fabrics may also be used in the manufacture of bedding such as sheets, pillowcases, and blankets; seat pads, seat backs, cushions and other such articles to increase the comfort of the user. The fabrics of the current invention can be configured for either cooling or warming applications by the selection of the plus or minus DC current direction to the TE devices.
Other related devices in the prior art were deployed with alternative technologies, and in contrast to the present invention, all of these prior art devices were wired to batteries for their DC power.
One prior art device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,970,718 issued to Arnold, a co-inventor of the present invention, on Oct. 26, 1999, for Personal Heat Control. That patent discloses the application of direct cooling or warming to specific locations on the human body where the blood vessels are close to the surface of the skin. The cooling is produced by a TE device in contact with the skin and contained in headbands or wristbands and the like.
A second apparatus by the same co-inventor is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,087,254 B2 issued Jan. 3, 2012, for Personal Heat Control Device and Method. That patent discloses a method of extracting excess personal heat from the inside of a helmet or mask through the use of heat pipe thermal transfer technology. The above described devices in both Arnold disclosures are limited to very specific points on the body and involve apparatus which are contained in helmets or other enclosures which must be worn by an individual to receive the benefit of the body temperature control. However, the novel structure of the electronic configurations of the instant invention uniquely extends the application of heat transfer technology to temperature regulation in general and to the temperature regulating applications for the fabrics herein disclosed.
Yet another temperature regulating approach is disclosed in WIPO Patent Application Publication No. WO2012115933 A2 published by Finefrock et al. on Aug. 30, 2012, for Flexible Polymer-Based Thermoelectric Materials and Fabrics Incorporating the Same. This publication describes the incorporation of battery powered flexible polymer-based thermoelectric materials as a film coated onto fabrics for purpose of cooling a wearer. Here the polymer film contains conductive nanowires that deliver the TE effect.
Other efforts at solving the aforementioned temperature regulation problems have employed phase change materials, ice packs, fans and sprays, among others; none of which have achieved the intended combination of temperature regulation, comfort and convenience of use. Accordingly, a need has arisen for an improved personal temperature regulation system which provides reliable and convenient temperature control features for a user without requiring cumbersome and breakable wiring, battery, ice packs, fans and the like.